As most Zimbabweans still struggle to survive and to access the basics — bread, toilet paper, and the like, the prospect of chaos hovers around them. The story remains largely the same — lots of news, little actual information. The Southern African Development Community plans to meet to address the Zimbabwe situation. Zambia's Levy Mwanawasa, […]
Has anti-immigrant xenophobia reached new lows in South Africa? Attacks on migrants have increased in recent months and many worry that this marks a disturbing trend. IRIN has a report.
It is the most potent and dangerous arrow remaining in Mugabe's quiver. More daunting than corruption, more destructive than his alliances with the power structure, Mugabe's ability to marshal violence is the biggest remaining X-factor remaining in whether or not he clings tenaciously to power. That violence might come in the myriad security forces at […]
Unrest and fear of worse to come has again taken hold in Kenya as the country's political stalemate has again spilled out into the streets. While some commentators have taken to dreaming of future hopes, such as Uhuru Kenyatta, son of Jomo Kenyatta, most Kenyans are caught up in the here and now. I wrote […]
[Zapiro, Mail & Guardian, 4 April 2008] One clear division between Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma (and as stark as the political and personal conflicts are between the two men and their supporters, when it comes to policies and platforms most people could not stake out clear and categorical differences between them) comes on the Zimbabwe […]
The largest transaction to occur under the auspices of South Africa's Black Economic Empowerment program appears set to go through, and most observers are lavishing praise on the deal and its ramifications. The Economist has the details.
It appears that India's engagement with Africa has the potential to yield fruit. Indian officials have announced “duty free preferential market exports” from developing nations, including 34 in Africa. While Africans have every right to be skeptical of any such deals with the outside world, this deal appears to represent a vital moment for African […]
The negotiations in Kenya appear to have reached stalemate, and possibly collapse. One can only hope that the solution still lies in talks and not in a resumption of violence in the streets. But in all likelihood the masses are not going to raise arms over an issue as relatively esoteric (from the vantage point […]
Who benefits from the delays plaguing Zimbabwe's election? The smart money is that Robert Mugabe benefits by being able to consolidate his hold on power and marshal his resources. But what if the time allows certain facts to become clear and gives those Mugabe loyalists who are beginning to stray the impetus to do so? […]
Stop me if this sounds familiar: Recently prominent South African political leaders met away from the country's major metropolitan areas in order to determine future leadership. The divisions were stark and clear and the leadership campaign tightly contested between two men, both of whom have their supporters and their detractors. Welcome not to Polokwane 2007, […]
Anarchy would seem to be the enemy of autocracy. After all, anarchy implies a lack of control where autocracy embodies control. Nonetheless, the most skilled tyrants know that there are times when unleashing the forces of chaos is a marvelous tool in their arsenal. Anarchy allows for police crackdowns, it allows for score settling, it […]
For all of the talk about China and its potentially deleterious impact on Africa, there is another potential player in African affairs from the east. India may well provide a useful foil to China, and perhaps even will present a somewhat less predatory visage. Having a diversity of options can only help African leaders to […]
Tempered optimism may have dominated the news cycle with regard to Zimbabwe for a couple of days, as supporters of the opposition have basked in the prospects of something even “sweeter than a miracle.” But might grim reality be setting in? Never mind that even if all goes well and the opposition emerges fully victorious […]
[Crossposted from a much longer post on the Zimbabwe situation at the FPA Africa Blog.] While South Africa maintains its wary silence on the elections, the ANC has issued a predictable and unexceptional statement asking Zimbabweans of all parties to respect the results, however they turn out. One hopes this boilerplate does not ask Zimbabweans to respect […]
So, what do we know today about the crisis in Zim? Well, rumors swirl more freely than facts, and so what we actually know, as opposed to what we can project, is relatively limited. We know that we all are still waiting for something resembling real election results, that barring shenenigans on Mugabe's part, he […]